Refery screens introductions from independent recruiters, operator scouts, and TA partners for VC-backed Seed to Series B companies. This is written from that vantage point: what makes a founder reply within a day, and what makes an introduction sit unread.
The four things a founder needs
1. The work the person owned
Not the company, not the title. The problem they faced, the decisions they made, and the outcome you can substantiate.
"She owned the migration off the monolith at a 40-person company: picked the boundaries, wrote the cutover plan, and stayed with it through two failed attempts before it worked."
That sentence is worth more than any résumé summary, because it tells a founder what this person does when a plan fails. "Great engineer, ex-Stripe" tells them nothing they can act on.
2. How you know it
Say how you saw the work: you managed them, you were on the same team, you invested in the company and watched it ship. Firsthand context is the entire value of a referral. A profile you found online is sourcing, which is fine, but label it as such so nobody mistakes it for a personal vouch.
3. Why they would move now
A founder's second question is always "would they even take this?" Answer it: they want more ownership than their current scope allows, they are ready to leave after a reorg, they want to work on AI in production rather than research. If you do not know, say you do not know rather than guessing.
4. The constraints that decide fit
Location and working arrangement, compensation expectation, work authorisation, notice period, and anything they will not do. These are not awkward details to raise later; they are what makes an introduction real. Half the introductions that die do so because a constraint surfaces in week three that could have been in the first message.
What to leave out
- Adjectives without evidence. "Rockstar," "top 1%," "world-class." Every founder has learned to skip them.
- A résumé with no note. If the only thing you add is the attachment, you have added nothing.
- A name with no consent. See below.
- Company names the person asked you to keep private. Describe the work, not the logo, if that is what they agreed to.
- Anything you cannot back up. If a claim comes apart in the first interview, the next referral you send is read differently.
Consent comes first
Before a profile reaches a company, the person should know it is happening and agree to it. In practice:
- Ask whether they are open to hearing about a specific kind of role.
- Tell them the company, or the kind of company, and what the role owns.
- Confirm what they are happy to have shared, and what they are not.
- Only then make the introduction.
If someone is exploring quietly, that is a constraint like any other, and it needs handling before anything is sent. Candidate consent across multiple opportunities covers the harder cases, like the same person being considered by two companies at once.
A template you can copy
Who: [Name], currently [role] at [company or "a Series A fintech"].
What they owned: [One or two sentences. The problem, their decisions, the outcome.]
How I know: [Worked with them at X for two years / invested in their company / they reported to me.]
Why now: [Their reason for considering a move, in their words if possible.]
Constraints: [Location, working arrangement, compensation expectation, work authorisation, timing.]
Consent: [They know about this role and agreed to the introduction.]
Still to test: [The thing you are not sure about. Say it.]
That last line makes a referral more credible, not less. Nobody believes a perfect candidate.
What happens after
A useful referral does not guarantee an interview or a hire; the timing depends on the search, the candidate, and the hiring team. What it does is get a real reply instead of silence, and it makes the next one you send get read first.
If you want to work startup searches with this kind of context, Refery pays independent recruiters, operator scouts, and TA partners 70% of the collected placement fee on eligible hires they originate, with no fee to join. Start with operator scouts, independent recruiters, or TA partners, depending on the context you bring, and see how the networks compare.
Frequently asked questions
What should a talent referral actually say?
Four things: what the person owned (the problem, their decisions, the outcome), how you know that firsthand, why they would consider a move now, and the constraints that decide fit (location, compensation expectation, work authorisation, timing). Everything else is decoration. A referral without the first point is a name, not a referral.
Do I need the candidate's permission before referring them?
Yes, before their profile is shared with a company. Ask whether they are open to hearing about a specific kind of role, tell them which company or type of company you have in mind, and let them decide. Referring someone who has not agreed wastes the hiring team's time and costs you their trust.
Why do most referrals get ignored?
Because they arrive as a name and a link with no evidence, no motivation, and no constraints. A founder reading that has to do all the work of qualifying, so it goes to the bottom of the pile. The ones that move fast answer the founder's first three questions before they are asked.